Sinn Féin spokesperson on Addiction, Recovery and Wellbeing Thomas Gould TD has today written to the Oireachtas Committee on Health asking them to prioritise a hearing on the recently published HRB Survey on Drug and Alcohol Prevalence.
Teachta Gould said:
“I wrote to the Health Committee today seeking a dedicated hearing on this extremely important report.
“The report is published once every 5 years – the last report in 2014/15 and this current one taken during 2019/20 – and is a well-collected and vital information source on addiction prevalence and harmful behaviours in this state. This is an extremely important resource which deserves proper engagement.
“The latest report highlights worrying trends in relation to cocaine prevalence, female addiction patterns and the use of Novel Psychoactive Substance among other key issues.
“Given the ongoing review of the National Drugs Strategy, the Minister with Responsibility for the National Drugs Strategy must attend the committee. This data will now have to inform the review and we need to know that the Minister is taking this seriously.”